


A Night in Oregon

by artsytarts



Series: Bond/Leiter One Shots [6]
Category: James Bond - All Media Types, James Bond - Ian Fleming
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Canon Disabled Character, Character Study, Feels, Fluff, Friendship, Gen, Pre-Slash, Short & Sweet, Short One Shot, amputee felix leiter
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-12
Updated: 2021-03-12
Packaged: 2021-03-19 07:55:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,680
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29996265
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/artsytarts/pseuds/artsytarts
Summary: Felix was hard-pressed to think of anyone who cared as much as James did. He knew for a fact that James felt more than most people, and more deeply too. If he decided to open his heart to you, that was it. He’d put his life in your hands, it wasn’t even a question. Not for him. And in turn, you’d do the same.
Series: Bond/Leiter One Shots [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2058240
Comments: 1
Kudos: 2





	A Night in Oregon

**Author's Note:**

> This began as a character study of Felix' background for a longer story I'm planning and ended up being a fluffy pile of cheesyness. XD Platonic or pre-slash, definitely readable with a shippy lense. 
> 
> As always, this story is based on the characters as they appear in Ian Fleming's books, but modern AU. 
> 
> Hope you enjoy!

“Can you imagine anything more peaceful?” 

Felix’ voice cut through the silence, which a moment before had been governed by the soft whisper of wind brushing through grass. He and James lay side by side on a slope, shoulders touching. It was a clear, cool night and a countless myriad of stars twinkled above them. 

They were somewhere in rural Oregon, just outside a little roadhouse on the edge of a farm. The place was run by an old married couple who rented their rooms out to earn a bit of extra cash, since their farm had seen better days. They were a nice and chatty couple who had immediately taken to James because apparently, they didn’t have the pleasure of welcoming foreign guests often. 

Felix had been very amused to watch his poor friend as James was being bombarded with questions about England, whereabouts he was from, what he did for a living, if he liked it in the US and if he’d ever been to Oregon before. Eventually, James managed to politely excuse himself from the smalltalk. 

He and Felix were making their way to their rooms, when James stopped suddenly by a window, captivated by the view. 

“Stars are bright tonight,” he commented when Felix caught up.

“Yeah, you get a good view of the milky way ‘round here. We’re miles off from the next big town. I bet if you got farther away from the farm you’d get an even nicer display up there.”

“Now there’s an idea,” James said and his eyes lit up. “How about a spot of stargazing?”

And so, flashlight in hand, they'd stumbled their way out into the fields until they'd reached the grassy little hill they now lay upon.

Felix stole a glance over at James. In the starlight, his eyes glittered with glee as he let them roam across the sky. This was something Felix truly admired about his friend. Here he was, James Bond, 007, a man with a license to kill. A man who stared into the abyss of humanity on a regular basis. And he still found it in him to marvel at the stars. 

In James' shoes, Felix didn’t know if he could do the same. 

He remembered some of the faces he’d met during his time working for the CIA. The special-ops men and women who’d had too much of death and had closed themselves to the world. It seemed all too common for people like them to shut themselves down, to not let anything in anymore. Felix didn’t blame them. 

But somehow, James managed to do the opposite. Maybe to him, all the darkness he witnessed made everything else seem brighter. 

Felix smiled at his own speculations. James would probably call him a corny little shit if he ever voiced those thoughts out loud. 

But it was true, he thought to himself. Felix was hard-pressed to think of anyone who cared as much as James did. He knew for a fact that James felt more than most people, and more deeply too. If he decided to open his heart to you, that was it. He’d put his life in your hands, it wasn’t even a question. Not for him. And in turn, you’d do the same. 

That was what it meant to be James Bond’s friend: Irrefutable trust.

Not for the first time, Felix realized how rare that sort of connection was. How lucky he was to have this kind of loyalty in his life. He thoughtfully let his eyes roam the star-speckled sky. He had the urge to tell James what he was feeling, but… How could you put all of that into actual words? 

The comfortable silence endured for a while longer as Felix mulled it all over in his head. 

Finally, he took a deep breath and spoke. “Hey, can I tell you somethin’?”

James, pulled from a meditation of his own, turned to him. “Of course.”

“I was thinkin’, I guess… the hardest lesson I ever had to learn was that not everybody’s worth it.”

“How do you mean?” James asked. 

“I mean that even if you give your damn best to have someone’s back, even if you’re there for them every time they get knocked down, doesn’t mean they’ll do the same for you. So you gotta be careful who you invest yourself in, y’know?” 

Felix shifted to make himself more comfortable and carried on. “When I was at the hospital, after the whole… shark incident. Half my so-called ‘friends’ didn’t even show up for me. Sure, not everyone can afford a plane ticket to Jamaica, but not even a phone call? Or a text? Not even a ‘hey man, glad you’re alive?’ After I showed up for them in their hour of need? Hell no! One guy, one of my best buds up to that point, called me after givin’ me the silent treatment for months and just went ‘hey, wanna go for a hike with me and the boys?’ Brother, you’re askin’ someone who can’t walk two blocks without havin’ to turn ‘round cause he’s in too much pain. You know what he said?”

James, frowning, shook his head. 

“‘Don’t be like that, you’ve had your new leg for half a year now!’”

“Ouch.”

Felix huffed a laugh. “Yeah! Like, he watches  _ one _ documentary about some athlete who ran a race the year after his amputation and thinks people just get their limbs replaced and walk off into the sunset, no problem! Don’t get me wrong, I’m happy for the athlete, but I just ain’t that lucky. This guy’s given me a lot of trouble.” He flourished his leg for emphasis. 

“I hope you’re not in touch with that one anymore.”

“Sure as hell ain’t! But it hurt, y’know? It really did. Here you are, goin’ through the most difficult thing you’ll probably ever experience and people who you trusted, who you thought would show up for you… just don’t. They expect you to come home from hospital and to just be your good ol’ self. And when you’re not, they’re not prepared to stick around for you to recover. They’re only prepared to be there when things are goin’ well and when they ain’t…  _ Poof!  _ They’re gone.”

Felix sighed deeply. For a moment, he watched the sky again, as if it could give him some kind of comfort.

“I used to be so invested in people, James. Used to do everything for people, like… I felt responsible for them. Used to think that everyone deserved a second chance. Or a third or a fourth. Used to be proud of it too.” He shook his head. “But in reality, there ain’t no reason to give your all to someone who won’t give anything back. As you britishers put it: Some people are just pricks.”

James nodded gravely at the sentiment. “Amen.”

“Amen, brother,” Felix echoed.

It struck him that If they would’ve had drinks right now, this would have been the perfect time for a toast. Alas, they did not. 

Instead, Felix gave James a nudge with his shoulder and continued: “Anyway, that ain’t the point I was trying to make. See, there’s another lesson I learned.”

James nodded along obediently.

“I learned to recognize who  _ is _ worth it. You wanna know what my favorite memory from that time is?”

“Hit me.”

“My favorite memory was when a certain lunatic spontaneously decided to fly all the way from England to the west coast, just to  _ surprise me  _ while I was sulking in hospital. Remember that?”

“After your second leg surgery?”

“Right!”

James let out a hearty laugh. “Remember when I snuck you out in a wheelchair?” 

“Oh hell, do I! You got me into a lot of trouble.”

“You were about to lose your mind in that bed, something had to be done.”

“Wasn’t that an evening... Best part was when we accidentally stumbled in on karaoke night at that corny-as-hell tiki bar. And I was so loopy from the pain meds that I just went and grabbed the mic and had a go at Lady Gaga. Must’ve sounded like shit, but it was  _ fun _ .”

“Wasn’t so bad, they loved you.”

“Couldn’t say that about the head nurse afterwards though. I swear, I thought she was going to rip my head off when we got back, and she was right. I felt like crap afterwards. But damn, it was worth it, every second of it,” Felix said, still grinning. “But see, that’s what I meant before: You showed up. Not everyone does.”

“You’d’ve done the same for me, it was only natural.”

“Not for most it ain’t. I swear, the amount of people I had to cut out of my life because they couldn’t give two shits about me… But not you. And not ‘cause you felt guilty or ‘cause you pitied me, but ‘cause you honestly thought it’d be a  _ fun time _ . You never looked at me different. You just saw a friend who needed some normalcy after a seriously messed up year. I’m gonna be frank here, James. That day could easily have turned into one of the worst in my life, full disclosure. I was depressed, traumatized and in pain and it felt like people had stopped treating me like a person and… I was in a dark place. I swear, when I saw you waltz in, I coulda cried.” he reached over with his hook and gave James a playful nudge. “I never said thank you, so… Thanks for showin’ up for me. You’re a great friend.  


James smiled and returned the nudge with his shoulder, saying: “You’re a special kind of guy, Felix. Worth showing up for. It really wasn’t as ground-breaking as you make it sound.”

“James?” 

“Hmm?” he turned his head over. 

“Stop putting yourself down. Just take the damn compliment and shut up.” 

Felix' glare bore into him. James relaxed his shoulders and folded his hands on his stomach, turning his eyes back to the stars. 

“Yes sir,” he said. 

Felix nodded decisively. And soon, silence reigned again. 

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I am an able bodied person writing a disabled character. Do give me a head's up if I write anything offensive or wrong when it comes to disabilities / prosthetics / life as an amputee. I will do my best to correct my mistakes and to keep myself educated on those topics.


End file.
